BIG THINGS!!!

Well, big things have been happening for BlackLight! In just a short period of time, we are making our mark. Since we posted last on Monday the 18th, we have had a week full of rehearsals and classes where we have been dancing, writing and talking about the things we care about most. You may remember that we were invited to speak on a panel in Ypsilanti about hip hop and the current controversy surrounding language and the representation of black culture (see our 6/18 post if you need a refresher). As you also may remember, we were a little wary of what the panel would be like and if our voices would be heard. To our welcome surprise the panel was off the chain and very REAL. We were seated among two Dr.s, a Reverend, a very wise man from the community who knew tons on music history, and two very outspoken male high school students. Everyone had a lot to say and spoke with passion and intelligence. We felt so energized afterwards knowing that so many people care so deeply about our community and are thinking critically about solutions. We do wish, however, that there was more focus on the solutions than the problems, but it was still a great panel. The audience asked a lot of challenging questions and some good debates were started. BlackLight made some good connections with other youth trying to make change in their own special ways and adults who gave us encouragement and support. Big Ups to Ms. Eaglin for inviting us!!!


But...that is just part of what we did on Saturday. Before the panel, we took a master modern dance class with two members of the MOMIX dance company. Words can't even express how much fun we had in this class. Some things were harder than others but we worked it out! Rob and Sara, the dancers who taught the class, were encouraging the whole time and really pushed us to take risks, fall off balance, and basically dance from our hearts (like we are known to do here at BlackLight anyway). We have to give a Shout Out to ROB AND SARA and to MARTRA for telling us about this great opportunity.

You can read more about all of this and see us in action below...

The month of July will be BOOTCAMP for us. We will be dancing, running rehearsals, choreographing, working out, writing, and working on our photography and storytelling skills for upcoming classes, workshops and performances in August and September. We hope you are, like us, drinking lots of water and trying to eat healthy in this hot weather.

Keep checking for us...
If you are new to us, please take a look at some of our older posts.

Strength & Love,

BlackLight